Thompkins gone
- Thread starter Crazyhole
- Start date
He was worth the risk, but I sure get tired of seeing these high risk high reward guys leave before they contribute.
Color me unsurprised on this. Feel bad for the kid, popped the knees too many times and just couldn't get it back.
It won't shock me if he isn't the last RB to exit. I've been saying that I could see them bringing in another RB transfer as well.
It won't shock me if he isn't the last RB to exit. I've been saying that I could see them bringing in another RB transfer as well.
Agree. We’re never short of a walk-on, a MAC transfer or another mid 3* that no local State schools wanted. Excited to see how this plays out. Could be huge on the outcome of the season. Kidding of course.
Getting passed on the depth chart by multiple walk-ons probably tells you all you need to know about a kid's future. The total absence of positive buzz about him this spring and his inability to get on the field last year in a barren RB room were not good harbingers.
Will gladly take a transfer who was unheralded out of HS and proved ability in college games over keeping around a 4* kid who can't play any more. Held has signed really good kids at the RB position, so far they've had horrible luck in terms of injuries.
RT you could make a case that they shouldn't have signed him because of his injury history. Washington you can make the case because of his behavioral history.
When Washington messed up, we had already signed him. Wasn’t on campus yet though. We were able to sign him when others thought he would be juco due to grades.
He also bounced around high schools, which can be a red flag. But my point is that the revenge porn incident was not a factor on signing day.
By all accounts he's just kind of an odd cat. I had forgotten that he basically made grades against all odds to get to NU in the first place.
I have a growing curiosity about whether NU ends up with some of the 4* kids they do because the more selective programs have decided there are red flags.
Well that turned out to be a wasted use of a scholarship on a damaged recruit. 
Wonder if he was "encouraged" to leave in order to free up a scholarship or if he gave up on his own.
Wonder if he was "encouraged" to leave in order to free up a scholarship or if he gave up on his own.
Eventually we were going to be losing a couple in the running back room..
Was hoping for the best with Ronnie being able to turn the corner after all his injuries....
Was hoping for the best with Ronnie being able to turn the corner after all his injuries....
you can't keep 7 RBs happy. Frost knew this when he recruited 7 RBs in a short amount of time. the kids probably need to do a better job of depth chart analysis before signing with a program. they get told be coaches they shouldn't care about depth charts but thats because that kind of attitude is good for the coaches. not the recruits
is it a problem with the recruits not looking at the depth chart or not analyzing the staff that is supposed to developing that depth chart
there is no depth chart ... not a single player in the RB room, despite several having offers from other quality power 5 schools has done jack at Neb
if I'm a RB recruit maybe I'm asking why do none of these otherwise reasonably in demand recruits seem to be able to produce at Neb - is it coaching, is it strength and conditioning, is it an over bloated RB room where practice reps and individual coaching is diluted - perhaps it isn't a problem with the recruits
It seems the staff over-emphasizes a higher ceiling over a surer fit, underestimates the importance of setting proper expectations during the recruiting process, and over estimates their ability to manage egos when they struggle adjusting at the this level on campus
More successful and established programs can take a higher road, avoid these pitfalls, and still pull in numerous 4/5 star recruits. We chased absolute talent, rolled snake eyes, and lost the magic Frost had when he came. To succeed, his only choice now is the hard way. The only way.
Fully agree. It's one thing to be Saban or Dabo and be like, "Hey we're winning games and taking the conference with our without you. I got these rings that say probably I'm right and you're wrong so shut up and do it my way."
NU needs some wins to justify the means.
Yeah the kid was/is messed up. Other teams did their homework. Nebraska took a chance, which looked great for awhile, but didn’t end up paying off. It happens, and Nebraska cannot not take chances...sure would be nice for one to come they sometime soon though.
I gotta admit, at first I thought the transfer portal was a way-too-wide-open-door. But I'm having a hard time finding fault with it.
Players get to go where they will play.
Coaches don't waste scholarships on players who won't play.
Does it encourage immediate gratification rather than putting in the hard yards and earning your place? Sometimes. Maybe. But it also gives second chances to all involved.
Players get to go where they will play.
Coaches don't waste scholarships on players who won't play.
Does it encourage immediate gratification rather than putting in the hard yards and earning your place? Sometimes. Maybe. But it also gives second chances to all involved.
Back when we had a larger number of scholarships it wasn't unusual for Tom to have 7 I backs stockpiled on the roster. Many of those guys never amounted to anything and they were pretty much all highly recruited high school guys. What we've seen at NU isn't all that unusual. You take the best guys you can get and then each and every year you try to recruit over them. Let the cream rise to the top. I've heard they like Thompkins' skills set but that he just never put things together in practice. Then you have a guy like Yant come in and seemingly be able to grasp concepts and always show up at practice.
You saw the raw talent that kid had. We had nothing on the roster like that. Frost had to take Mo. He was a potential game changer and you hope you can manage the issues. If NU's support system couldn't do it, nobody can.
Maybe those recruits should look in the mirror after seeing Devine make it to the NFL and wonder what they're doing wrong. You're a piece of work troll.
i actually think Frost has had a couple pretty good starting tailbacks. I just dont think his offense is designed to feature them. The QB always has the 2nd most carries of any player on the roster, or close to it.
I think the OL has been average at best at Frost loves to get the ball to the outside on swing passes and QB runs.
for an RB to look dominate in Frosts offense the OL would have to be so good that Frost would decide to change his offense to batter people up front. His offense, i dont think, is designed to batter the defense.
i dont think the RBs are the problem. if you want an elite running game with elite looking RBs then you need an offense that emphasizes that. What you are really looking for isnt better RBs. Its a different offense.
just my uneducated guess
OU kinda does the same thing. Their QBs steal a ton of carries from their RBs. They haven't had a dominate looking RB in quite a while. Sermon transferred from OU to Ohio State and became a big deal because OSU fed him the ball.
RBs who want to be a showcase player need to pick programs who feed their RBs. there are not a ton of them around.
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Yant has the want, along with a lot of size and good open field running. No idea about pass pro. He can be a factor if he keeps working.
I've said this before, IMO Held is a bust RB coach. One back, Ozigbo, developed really nicely. Held has had 2 or 3 4* backs every year and they seem to be pretty much busts. The common denominator here is coaching and play calling not 8 or 9 different backs.
below is the what the vaunted underclassmen RB recruits have produced under the tutelage of this staff- the worst in the conference
Neb ranked 13th in the BIG in combined rushing yards/game from their Fr-So RBs
Neb top underclassmen RB (Scott) ranked last in the BIG in total rushing yards, and yards per carry when compared to other teams top underclassman RB (it wasn't close)
Yards per game - underclassmen (Fr-So) RBs
PSU -- 110
OSU -- 99
Iowa - 95
Northw - 87
Wisc - 82
Ill -- 82
MSU - 46
Minn - 45
Ind - 38
Mich - 33
Mary - 29
Rutg - 28
Neb - 15
Purdue - 11
9 BIG teams had multiple underclassmen RB with better rushing production than Neb's top underclassman
Neb has 11 Fr-So RBs on its roster- by far the most of any BIG school (7 is next closest)
Play calling isn’t on Held..
Frost has yet to really rely on the run game. You saw him do this on the last game of the year with Miles, and things looked good, but usually Frost is too busy trying to be fancy. That isn’t on Held either.
Nebraska averaged the 2nd most rush yards per game in the B1G last year. They were 3rd in 2019. 4th in 2018. These are rankings that some people would categorize as a trend.
For reference, they were 13th, 9th, 6th, 4th, and 3rd (also rankings that some would categorize as a trend) in the five years prior to the current staff's arrival after leading the conference in 2012 and finishing 3rd their first year with the B1G.
It's not a mystery that Nebraska has relied heavily on senior RBs and 2AM, but they're doing just fine rushing the ball (once again) and that'll continue this season regardless of which underclassmen must now carry the load.
LOL ... of the 4 players that had more than 25 carries on the season 2 of them were QBs and 1 was a 170 pound WR
last year the back up QB and tiny WR had combined - more carries, more total rushing yards and better yards per carry than the top 2 RBs did combined
the RB position has been dismal
thank goodness the garden city community college staff can develop a RB or there would have been absolutely zero production from the RB position last year
Rutgers was a joke and couldn't stop a good HS team so hanging ones hat on that single game is futile.
IMO, we have severely lacked what it takes up front on the OL. Game after game our RB is stopped by multiple tacklers before they even get started. Throw on top of that we don't have a good enough passing game to keep people on their heels and you have a recipe for disaster.
I don't think for a minute Frost wants his QB running so much and exposed to getting hit from every direction. Many of the "run" plays and pass plays where things break down and he can't find anyone, see my points above.
As for recruiting RB's I have no clue what they are thinking. No doubt we haven't developed anyone to date but then look at our entire offensive team and ask who have they developed? Simply they have taken too many fliers on players they thought would make it but couldn't in the B1G.
We have done the same recruiting for WR, give scholies to 3* kids and higher that just don't make a contribution. Now they are moving in as well.
I kind of like some our young backs. They run hard, set blocks up with and inside out move and have more natural instincts than some in the past. Washington had it and blessed natural ability but nothing upstairs to make it all work.
Dingle, you need to list for me all the great backs that Tom recruited 7 deep who sat on the bench. To me he got a real stud and then surrounded them with great athletes that fit what he wanted in the system. He didn't go out and recruit every 4/5* kid out there. Examples?
IMO, we have severely lacked what it takes up front on the OL. Game after game our RB is stopped by multiple tacklers before they even get started. Throw on top of that we don't have a good enough passing game to keep people on their heels and you have a recipe for disaster.
I don't think for a minute Frost wants his QB running so much and exposed to getting hit from every direction. Many of the "run" plays and pass plays where things break down and he can't find anyone, see my points above.
As for recruiting RB's I have no clue what they are thinking. No doubt we haven't developed anyone to date but then look at our entire offensive team and ask who have they developed? Simply they have taken too many fliers on players they thought would make it but couldn't in the B1G.
We have done the same recruiting for WR, give scholies to 3* kids and higher that just don't make a contribution. Now they are moving in as well.
I kind of like some our young backs. They run hard, set blocks up with and inside out move and have more natural instincts than some in the past. Washington had it and blessed natural ability but nothing upstairs to make it all work.
Dingle, you need to list for me all the great backs that Tom recruited 7 deep who sat on the bench. To me he got a real stud and then surrounded them with great athletes that fit what he wanted in the system. He didn't go out and recruit every 4/5* kid out there. Examples?
Yet, they finished 2nd in YPG in the conference in a year they played from behind much of the time. Say what you want to about the distribution of the carries, but the results speak for themselves and Nebraska is going to run the ball a ton again going forward.
Oregon went to a National Championship with a true freshman carrying the load with Frost as OC. UCF went 13-0 with a 150lb. sophomore and a freshman who was recruited at WR as their feature backs after a kid who just left James Madison broke himself against Maryland.
These coaches haven't been able to call scoreboard much in Lincoln, but if you're concerned about Nebraska rushing the ball because they don't have an incumbent bell cow you're not paying attention.